Saturday, February 8, 2014

Title: This Star Won't Go OutAuthor: Ester EarlFormat: HardcoverPublication: January 28, 2014Score:Summary: A collection of the journals, fiction, letters, and sketches of the late Esther Grace Earl, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 16. Photographs and essays by family and friends will help to tell Esther’s story along with an introduction by award-winning author John Green who dedicated his #1 bestselling novel The Fault in Our Stars to her.Review: This book really got to me. I first heard about it through, who else, John Green. I'd actually first heard about Ester through John's vlog when I watched all of the Vlogbrothers old videos last year. She was a friend of his who he had met long after she was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately was his inspiration for writing The Fault in Our Stars (though he's very quick to let us all know that Hazel is not entirely based on Esther and that Hazel's story is not Esther's story).This Star Won't Go Out is a collection of Esther's journals and updates from a website her family had created after she got sick in order to keep their family and friends updated on her health. There are also many guest contributions from people such as her doctor, her friends, and her siblings. This book was a very touching read. It shows the darkness of depression that was inevitable in her life but it also gives us a look at the positive, caring, intelligent, sarcastic, full-of-love 12-16 year old girl that Esther was throughout the duration of her sickness. Esther made a lasting impression on many people in this world and that's all that one can hope to do in a lifetime, let alone just 16 years. It is a long but quick read and I recommend that absolutely every one read this book. I especially recommend that any nerdfighters, fans of The Fault In Our Stars, or just any one who is looking for something that will tug at their hearts read This Star Won't Go Out. But be prepared, it is definitely a tearjerker!

So, my one month hiatus for NaNoWriMo some how turned into a three month vacation. So what happened?

Well it's actually a pretty crappy story. I was doing SO amazing, my NaNo novel was really coming along. In the first three weeks I wrote about 45,000 words and I was well on my way to winning NaNo for my first time! I was participating in word sprints like crazy and was spending a ton of time on twitter with other writers cheering each other on. So would you guess what happened next?

My computer died. Actually it was my hard drive. Unfortunately I hadn't saved ANY of my NaNo novel which I still can't even believe because, well, I always save my novels!

As I'm sure you can imagine I was devastated. All of that work was gone in an instant. I had really liked a lot of what I had written and the story and the characters were all just so interesting and then poof, all of it was gone. I was so upset that it took me about two months to even bring the computer (which thank god I bought the warranty for) in to be looked at.

Today I FINALLY got my computer back and it's good as new (literally, it feel like it's brand new without all of my stuff on it).

So, as I said I am back!

I'm so so so sorry for being gone for so long, but I'm hoping to have some great things coming up to make up for it. Definitely a give away coming up soon and definitely tons and tons more reviews so stick around and sign up for updates over there to the left! And here's a look at a few of the reviews that you can keep your eyes out for soon:

The Secret Diamond Sisters by Michelle Meadow
This Star Won't Go Out by Ester Earl
Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi
Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

About

25 year old from California who spends the majority of her time reading Young Adult and New Adult novels. Reading and writing are my passion and I just want to share that passion with others! This page will feature reviews and more of many Young Adult and New Adult novels